Russia+-+Carter+Herring,Jake+King

Carter Herring, Jake King B4

**__ Russia – Russia __** //__ Mountains/Plateaus __// A belt of low mountains and plateaus 1,150 to 1,500 feet (350 to 460 meters) high flanks the Ural Mountains proper along the eastern edge of the Russian Plain. The north-south spine of the Urals extends about 1,300 miles (2,100 km) from the Arctic coast to the border with Kazakhstan and is extended an additional 600 miles (1,000 km) into the Arctic Ocean by Novaya Zemlya, an archipelago that consists of two large islands and several smaller ones. Although the Urals form the traditional boundary between Europe and Asia, they do not significantly impede movement. //__ Plains __// Western Russia makes up the largest part of one of the great lowland areas of the world, the Russian Plain (also called the East European Plain), which extends into Russia from the western border eastward for 1,000 miles (1,600 km) to the Ural Mountains and from the Arctic Ocean more than 1,500 miles (2,400 km) to the Caucasus Mountains and the Caspian Sea. About half of this vast area lies at elevations of less than 650 feet (200 meters) above sea level, and the highest point (in the Valdai Hills, northwest of Moscow) reaches only 1,125 feet (343 meters). Nevertheless, the detailed topography is quite varied. //__ Water Systems __// Russia’s longest rivers are all located in Siberia. The Ob’ and Irtysh rivers form Russia’s largest river system, which is also the largest in Asia and the fourth largest in the world. Together, these rivers flow 5,410 km (3,362 mi) north from western China through western Siberia to the Arctic Ocean. Several tributaries of the Ob’, including the Irtysh, flow through neighboring Kazakhstan. The Amur and its headwaters, the Onon and the Shilka, form Russia’s second longest system, with a total length of 4,416 km (2,744 mi). The Onon flows northeast from Mongolia into southern Siberia, where it joins the Ingoda to form the Shilka, which continues in a northeasterly direction. //__ Climate & Vegetation __// The geography of Russia describes the geographic features of Russia, a country extending over much of northern Eurasia. Comprising much of eastern Europe and northern Asia, it is the world's largest country in total area. Due to its size, Russia displays both monotony and diversity. As with its topography, its climates, vegetation, and soils span vast distances. From north to south the East European Plain is clad sequentially in tundra, coniferous forest (taiga), mixed and broad-leaf forests, grassland (steppe), and semi-desert (fringing the Caspian Sea) as the changes in vegetation reflect the changes in climate. Siberia supports a similar sequence but is taiga. The country contains 40 UNESCO Biosphere reserves. //__ Population & Culture __// "Rus" may derive from the name of a tribe that gained political ascendancy in Kiev and other Slavic towns and lent its name to the language, culture, and state. Some scholars believe this to have been a Varangian (Viking) clan from Scandinavia, and others hold that it was a Slavic tribe. Some historians believe that "Rus" derives from an ancient name for the Volga River. People ethnically identified as Russians have been politically and culturally dominant in a vast area for five hundred years of tsarist and Soviet imperial expansion. However, despite repression of their cultural autonomy, minority cultures have survived within the Russian Federation; including the peoples of the North Caucasus, numerous indigenous groups in Siberia, the Tatars in the Volga region, and the East Slavic Ukrainians and Belorusians. The last three groups are widely dispersed throughout the federation. All but the youngest citizens share a Soviet cultural experience, since under Communist Party rule the state shaped and controlled daily life and social practice. Much of that experience is being rejected by Russians and non-Russians who are reclaiming or reinventing their ethnic or traditional pasts; many communities are asserting a specific local identity in terms of language and culture. There is a broad cultural continuity throughout the federation and among the millions of Russians in the newly independent republics of Central Asia, the Baltic region, and the Caucasus. //__ History/Government __// The early history of Russia, like those of many countries, is one of migrating peoples and ancient kingdoms. In fact, early Russia was not exactly "Russia," but a collection of cities that gradually coalesced into an empire. I n the early part of the ninth century, as part of the same great movement that brough the Danes to England and the Norsemen to Western Europe, a Scandanavian people known as the Varangians crossed the Baltic Sea and landed in Eastern Europe. The leader of the Varangians was the semilegendary warrior Rurik, who led his people in 862 to the city of Novgorod on the Volkhov River. Whether Rurik took the city by force or was invited to rule there, he certainly invested the city. From Novgorod, Rurik's successor Oleg extended the power of the city southward. In 882, he gained control of Kiev, a Slavic city that had arisen along the Dnepr River around the 5th century. Oleg's attainment of rule over Kiev marked the first establishment of a unified, dynastic state in the region. Kiev became the center of a trade route between Scandinavia and Constantinople, and Kievan Rus', as the empire came to be known, flourished for the next three hundred years. By 989, Oleg's great-grandson Vladimir I was ruler of a kingdom that extended to as far south as the Black Sea, the Caucasus Mountains, and the lower reaches of the Volga River. Having decided to establish a state religion, Vladimir carefully considered a number of available faiths and decided upon Greek Orthodoxy, thus allying himself with Constantinople and the West. It is said that Vladimir decided against Islam partly because of his belief that his people could not live under a religion that prohibits hard liquor. Vladimir was succeeded by Yaroslav the Wise, whose reign marked the apogee of Kievan Rus'. Yaroslav codified laws, made shrewd alliances with other states, encouraged the arts, and all the other sorts of things that wise kings do. Unfortunately, he decided in the end to act like Lear, dividing his kingdom among his children and bidding them to cooperate and flourish. Of course, they did nothing of the sort. In 1917, two revolutions swept through Russia, ending centuries of imperial rule and setting in motion political and social changes that would lead to the formation of the Soviet Union. In March, growing civil unrest, coupled with chronic food shortages, erupted into open revolt, forcing the abdication of Nicholas II (1868-1918), the last Russian czar. Just months later, the newly installed provisional government was itself overthrown by the more radical Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin (1870-1924). Russian social dynamics appear to fit comfortably in this pattern. The great reformer and economist Yegor Gaidar used to say that Russia lagged behind the rest of Europe by about fifty years. He may have been right in this—the Russian middle class seems to have emerged from the sharp economic growth of 2000–2008 with higher expectations regarding state institutions and the engagement with the authorities at both national and local levels. Enjoying personal freedoms and prosperity unprecedented in almost a century, the more socially active segment appears to believe in being stakeholders in a functioning, fair, and less corrupt state. As leading Russian liberal columnist Andrei Kolesnikov put it, “after the fridges and the television set” came the demand for political liberties. This is “a revolution of the middle class,” declared an opposition leader (and one of Russia’s most popular writers) Boris Akunin (Grigory Chkhartishvili). “The middle class pays taxes and they are truly the salt of every developed society. . . . [And it needs] a healthy political system,” said Evgenia Chirikova, another hero of the opposition. //__ Economy __// There is no aspect of contemporary Russia that has changed more rapidly and unexpectedly than its economic situation. When Vladimir Putin became President, Russia was effectively bankrupt as it owed more money to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) than it had in foreign currency reserves. Since then, Russia has achieved a virtual macroeconomic revolution to the point where it is one of the largest creditors of U.S. debt in the world. Its nominal dollar GDP has increased by more than a factor of six, and has the potential to reach more than $2 trillion by 2010. Growth of this magnitude would equate to nearly a ten fold increase in GDP over the course of a decade. In early 2009, the Ministry of Economic Trade and Development published an ambitious plan outlining Russian economic goals to the year 2020. If these goals are reached, Russia would become the largest economy in Europe and the fifth largest in the world following the United States, China, Japan, and India. When examining the Russian economy, the first thing that needs to be considered is the sustainability of the current growth trends. Is the Russian government pursuing policies that are likely to constrain growth? How much does corruption tax economic expansion? How are Russian leaders weighing the trade-offs of investing in infrastructure modernization, growing social welfare demands, military modernization, etc.? Are the development and distribution of Russia’s vast energy resources driven more by political or commercial factors? The fundamental question the United States needs to answer concerns the degree to which Russian economic resurgence presents an opportunity or a threat to its interests. To what extent should the United States encourage deeper integration and interdependence? In the realm of security, U.S. policy toward Russia today broadly consists of contradictory tendencies toward engagement and containment. However these tendencies are also very relevant when considering the economic future of the Russian Federation. Never in its history has Russia been more prosperous or integrated into the global economy than it is now. Seemingly, this is a positive development and the achievement of one of the core goals of U.S. policy toward Russia since the Soviet collapse. However, like many aspects of contemporary Russia, this phenomenon is highly controversial in Washington, often due to the conflicting nature of economic information. This project seeks to clarify U.S. interests on the Russian economy and help place them in the broader context of U.S. policy toward Russia. After a decade of stunning economic growth, fueled by rising commodity prices and cheap foreign credit, the Russian economy established itself as a very attractive seat for foreign investment. By July 2008, Russian foreign currency reserves totaled more than $588.9 billion and oil prices broke new records at more than $147.27 per barrel, while Russian banks acquired foreign debt amounting $500 billion Even after months of financial instability following the volatility that rocked U.S. financial markets during the spring of 2008, Russia appeared to be weathering the financial storm better than most.However, as the crisis deepened, it became apparent that Russia would not be exempt from the economic downturn. Frozen credit markets, rapidly declining energy prices, and significant investor pull-back began having an effect on the Russian economy. Initial reaction from the Kremlin downplayed the impact of the crisis on Russia, but instead levied scorn on American regulators for failing to foresee the downturn.By the end of 2008, the ruble stood significantly weakened against the dollar and the main Russian stock index had all but collapsed. As industrial production slowed, unemployment increased and isolated incidences of civil unrest began to appear across the country. These factors, combined with a growing problem capital flight, forced the government to act by passing a broad economic stimulus package and injecting more than $200 billion into the economy. In spring 2009, oil prices climbed back from the low point they reached earlier in the year and the global impact of the crisis eased. Even so, experts predict Russia will continue to feel the effects of the crisis in the years ahead with economic contraction of between 7 and 8 percent expected in 2009 and only a modest growth in consecutive years. The global financial downturn has highlighted serious deficiencies in the economic policies of the Kremlin and the Russian economy itself. The speed and trajectory of Russia's recovery is highly contingent on the willingness of Russian policymakers to diversify their revenue streams and make much needed economic and monetary reforms. Russia’s main economic activity is mainly oil drilling.

The transportation system during the Soviet period was organized in the form of vertically integrated monopolies controlled by the central government. Thus, for example, the same administrative agency owned and operated the airports, airlines, and enterprises that manufactured aircraft. The infrastructure eroded seriously in the late Soviet period and requires much modernization and reform, for which Russia relies heavily on foreign investment and aid.

//__ Global Issues __//

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Russia, which trails only Saudi Arabia in oil production, saw its economic prospects firmly boosted by the run-up in crude oil prices that lasted through mid-2008. Then, during the latter half of the year, oil prices nosedived, as did Russian equity prices. The problems hit Russian financial institutions, with ratings agencies lowering their credit ratings on several Russian banks. One major Russian financial firm, Renaissance Capital, was forced to sell half its shares to a Russian oligarch to stave off fears of insolvency. Experts say Russian market woes were worsened by the country's outdated capital market structure, worries about transparency, and geopolitical unrest in the Kremlin's near abroad. Ahead of the April 2009 G-20 summit, Moscow joined France and Germany in resisting U.S. pressures to increase global stimulus expenditures, lobbying instead for a new international regulatory framework.